Fire danger. It doesn’t seem to matter what type of weather we
get, the fire danger is always dangerous in the summer, especially
for rural and hillside residents. But you can breathe easier if you
remember the three R’s: remove fuel, reduce fuel and replace
fire-hazardous plants with fire-resistant landscaping.
Fire danger. It doesn’t seem to matter what type of weather we get, the fire danger is always dangerous in the summer, especially for rural and hillside residents. But you can breathe easier if you remember the three R’s: remove fuel, reduce fuel and replace fire-hazardous plants with fire-resistant landscaping.
Flammable native brush, weeds and grasses can be replaced with plants that are inherently less flammable. That means you have to remove the “fuel” around your yard first. Weeds and brush can be cut down with a string trimmer, and then sprayed with Roundup or Finale.
Reduce fuel by pruning shrubs and trees within your defensible space.
As far as replacing them with fire-resistant landscaping, please note right up front that all plants will burn if exposed to enough heat. But most fleshy-leaved plants will smolder a lot longer before burning since their foliage doesn’t contain oils that make some brush explode in flames.
The fire-retardant plant list includes groundcovers to use in cleared areas around rural homes. Many states have laws that require a 30-foot defensible space around all structures in rural areas. However, this space can extend to 400 feet if your home is down slope from a steep hillside.
Among the more common groundcovers are: iceplant, sedum, ivy geranium, African daisy, myoporum, periwinkle (Vinca major or minor), ornamental strawberry, rosemary, rockrose (cistus) and star jasmine. These groundcovers can also reduce fire danger around tract homes.
Some shrubs with fire resistance are: wild lilac (ceanothus), australian fuchsia, strawberry tree, live oak, saltbrush, western red bud, cotoneaster, escallonia, toyon, oleander, pyracantha, raphiolepis and pittosporum.
At all costs, if you live on a hillside or in rural area, remove these highly flammable plants: scotch broom, algerian ivy, bamboo, pampas grass, eucalyptus, juniper and pine. Shape and growth are important, too. Upright rosemary, for example, is not fire retardant, but trailing rosemary is.
All residents, no matter whether you live in the country or city, should cut back plants as needed and remove dead growth. Also, remove leaves and needles from roofs and gutters. Trim any portion of trees extending over buildings, or within 10 feet of the chimney.
Other maintenance chores involve removing the low branches of large trees. Remove the bottom 10 feet of branches to prevent fires from using the tree as a ladder.
Using non-flammable materials where possible in the garden is always good. For example, at the base of trees and shrubs, replace flammable vegetation with mulch, such as bark, rock or gravel. In fact, anyplace there is bare dirt where weeds can grow, consider replacing with a mulch.
Finally, make sure your home has easily read and positioned address numbers that are legible from a main and traveled roadway. The fire department has to know where you are before they can help.
